| |
Range and Habitat: Jungles of India, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Kampuchea, Vietnam, southwest China, Bangladesh, Malaya
and Sumatra.
Habits and Adaptations: When not nesting these hornbills
gather in flocks of 6-20 or more individuals. These flocks appear
to be family related, including young from previous years. Slow
and laboured in flight.
Diet: Fruit, berries, insects, and small animals.
Breeding and Maturation: Breeding is remarkable because
the female is walled into a nest chamber during the 40 day incubation,
and fed by the male. The wall is a mixture of saliva, droppings,
food remains, and moist earth. The female breaks out of the nest
hole when the young are 2-3 weeks old, securing the hole after
she leaves. She helps the male to feed the young. About 30 days
later the young chip away the wall and leave the nest.
Miscellaneous: While in the nest, females may undergo
a complete moult and become temporarily flightless.
|